Triptick (IV) Three Studies Of Beers (Canned Edition)

Now the weather is getting warmer, its time to make the most of the brief patches of northern sun we get… so bring on the BBQ’s and of course, the beers.Canned beer is the perfect choice here, they chill down quickly, they're easy to transport, no need for a glass, and with the recent explosion of canned beer scene, there’s no reason to skimp on quality.

Beavertown Bloody 'Ell - Blood Orange IPA 7.2%, UK

These guys make some of the best beers in the UK right now, and their blood orange IPA is an absolute banger. 

The fruit is right there from the start, big dank hops sit against bags of sticky sweet oranges and redcurrants on the nose. It tastes like hoppy, boozy, freshly squeezed juice, but its got a firm bitterness to keep the hop heads out there interested too. Its all very intense and satisfying. This beer really delivers on the promise of fruit from the label, definitely one of Beavertown’s best.

EvilTwin Nomader Weisse - Berliner Weisse 4%, USA

Canned beer isn’t just about hops, sour beers are starting to pop up here and there, and this one is amazing.

The taste is as you might expected, sour, but its a good sour! There is real complexity behind the initial mouth puckering hit, it's packed full of sharp lemon and limes, a hint of vinegar acidity and yeasty funk, all well balanced well against solid sherbert sweetness. Big on flavour and very refreshing on a hot day.

Caldera IPA - 6.1%, USA

This beer was kicking around a couple years ago when I was just getting into IPA’s, and I recall loving it. I haven’t seen this around since then so seeing tit again was awesome, but there’s always that feeling that a beer wont be as good as you remember... thankfully I remembered perfectly here!

The smell is potent, deep sticky hop oils, ripe mangos and melons flying up out of the can, and as with any good IPA this all translates into the taste. These concentrated fruits are balanced perfectly against the malt base, but the real star of the show is the intense earthy bitterness. It makes its presence known from start to finish, but never tipping over to being unbalanced, this beer is expertly put together.

Of course these 3 barely scratch the surface of the awesome range of canned beers out there right now, and with Magic Rock set to start canning soon, things are only going to get better. Here’s to more canned beer!

Words - Nathaniel Colley